SuperSport United head coach Gavin Hunt has revealed why he didn’t sign Eric Mathoho after his exit at Kaizer Chiefs.
Mathoho, 33, was released by Chiefs after 11 years of service where he established himself as one of the leading defenders in South African football.
He won two league titles, was capped over 40 times for the senior national team with two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and featured at the 2016 Olympic games.
It appeared he would be reuniting with Hunt at SuperSport in the off-season when he started training with the club – but Hunt admits he wasn’t the right fit for Matsatsansa.
“Well I think… why isn’t Eric playing now? I think Eric knows the time has come – you know what I’m saying? I like Eric, he’s a good soldier, he was a great servant for Chiefs but the time has come,” Hunt said on This Is Football Africa Podcast.
“Why doesn’t he have a club now? Why am I not playing? Your legs go… so I feel sorry for him but with football clubs, people say oh clubs are not loyal, they are loyal, they look after you for a period of time and then the time comes where you too old and you must find a new club.
“I feel for him but that’s life, Eric came down but I already had three or four centre-backs and we couldn’t do anything – that was the main reason, but he’s also right at the end [of his career] and he’s not playing, I feel sorry for him.”
SuperSport are currently third in the DStv Premiership, four points behind league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns who have four games in hand.